New snake advice. Who to ask?

[muddoc]

I have been getting a rash of questions lately about issues they are having with their new snake. The most frequent asked question I have been getting revolves around feeding. Let me state that the specific scenario I am speaking of is questions from people via, phone call, e-mail and PM, and these people are not asking me about a snake they bought from me. Many of these people have actually never been customers of mine in the past at all. With all of that said, my question for further discussion is where do you go with these types of questions? Do you go to the breeder, a forum or just a trusted breeder? Below are my two views on the subject. They may spark a little debate in themselves, and revolve around the two biggest reasons I don't like giving advice in this type of scenario.

1) I prefer not to give out advice to someone that is asking about their animal that they didn't get from me, because if I give advice that ends up harming the animal in some way, or causes some other issue, the actual seller may disagree with my advice, and render the customers guarantee void. For example, if I sell someone a snake (I do not post up or ship an animal that hasn't eaten at least three meals on it's own in a row) that they claim won't eat, and their good friend tells them to force feed it, and it regurgitates and dies after said force feeding, I will not do anything for them. My recommendations would have gone more down the path of check your husbandry, and either you are feeding the wrong type of meal, or maybe the meal is too large or small. In essence, I think the best contact in a situation like this would be with the seller, as the issue can then be noted by them and tracked for future resolution if the problem persists.

2) This reason I don't like giving out advice, is where it may get a bit controversial, but I have been aggravated by this for quite some time. I know, and all of my customers can attest to this, that service after the sale is one of the biggest things I strive for. I have had many people tell me that my animals are slightly higher than what they can get elsewhere, but they know they can call me for anything for years to come. Why should I spend my time to help someone with a problem that they acquired from someone else. I think the guy that made the money off of the sale should have to spend his time answering questions and trying to solve the situation. With that said, many people on this forum know that I have always been very open with information, and I definitely don't want anyone to think for a second that I would let someone or their snake suffer because they couldn't get help. My first recommendation is to go back to the breeder/dealer, and get their input. If for any reason they won't help or the person thinks the advice is poor, I will do everything in my power to ensure that that animal doesn't fail to thrive.

I guess my parting comment is to remember that service is part of what you pay for when you buy a snake, so make sure that the person you buy from is not only going to supply you with a healthy, quality snake, but also service after the sale that meets your standards. And also remember that the safest thing to do if you have a problem is to contact the breeder/dealer FIRST.

Thanks for taking the time to read my long-winded post,